BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick advised graduating Boston University students on Sunday to put down their tablets, smart phones and other electronic devices and connect with others using instead human feelings of empathy and kindness.

He said too many people text, tweet, surf the Internet and email while barely acknowledging the presence of others.

“Real human connection, the nuance of empathy and understanding is often more gradual and elongated than Twitter,” Patrick said. “It requires intimacy. And I worry that the demands of constant communication and infinite information through social media are crowding out intimacy.”

For example, comforting the survivors of the Boston marathon bombing last year required a human touch, he said.